Perfect Is Overrated
by JimberlyShipper
Summary: This is the first chapter to a story that is based on Amy Jo's Perfect Body movie. Please enjoy, more chaps coming soon.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: This is a Power Ranger twist on Amy Jo's tv movie, Perfect Body, and it is set when she is still in Florida at the Pan Globals. Please enjoy; I just got the idea when I was thinking about watching it. The Power Rangers aren't mine, and nothing else that is known to be someone else's is mine, either. So read on and enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   
  
Perfect Is Overrated  
  
By Julia/Jacey  
  
It had all come down to this. Kimberly Hart would get a top spot at the Olympics if she did well here. Coach had been bearing down on her hard. She had been practicing as hard as she could. She ran across the mats and jumped into the air, performing backflip after backflip, and landing in a split. Cheers erupted, and she got up to see her score: 9 out of 10. That just might be good enough. Kimberly glanced into the crowd, and waved at her fiance, Jason Scott. He had moved with her to Florida, where he was finishing school at the local high school. They knew that they wouldn't have been able to survive without each other. Jason's older brother, Charlie, hadn't protested Jason's moving to Florida. Jason was eighteen, after all, and he knew he wouldn't have been able to talk his little brother out of it.   
  
Kimberly joined her coach, and waited for the judges' decision. She had worked so hard to get here. She had sacrificed time with Jason, time to speak to her best friend Aisha on the phone, ditto with her father.   
  
There was only two spots left, and Kimberly really wanted one of those spots. She thought that it would probably be her and her friend Beth. The head judge stood up and said, ''The gymnasts going to the Olympics are Kimberly Hart, and Stephanie Cowell.'' Kimberly squealed with happiness, and Jason ran down the aisle to the stairs and leapt down them two at a time to get to her. She threw her arms around him when he reached her, and she cried, ''Jase, I'm going to the Olympics!''   
  
Jason kissed her all over her face. ''I'm so glad you made it!'' He picked her up in a full body hug and twirled her around.   
  
Stephanie, who was actually not friends with Kimberly, walked by, and smacked Jason's behind. ''You got lucky, Hart.'' She said, and joined her friends. She had a fierce crush on Jason, and always flirted with him when she saw him.   
  
Kimberly wanted to tell her off, but Jason held her back. She shrugged it off, and grinned happily. ''I've finally got what I've been working for, Jason.''   
  
Jason hugged her tight against him. ''I am so happy for you.'' He paused, then asked, ''Should we move up the wedding date? You might not have time to get married once you've started training.''   
  
Kimberly slipped her hand into his as they walked off the floor, Kim ignoring Coach Schmidt, who was trying to talk to her. ''Maybe you're right. We've only got two months before I have to begin training, though, and do you really want to get married before you graduate from high school?''  
  
He shrugged. ''I just want to spend the rest of my life with you. I don't care where or when we do it, I was just thinking ahead.''   
  
They had reached the locker room. Kimberly kissed his cheek before going in. ''I'll change, and then we'll go to dinner.''   
  
Jason asked, ''Are Beth and Skyler going to be coming with us?'' Skyler was Beth's boyfriend.   
  
Kimberly said, ''Well, they were supposed to, but they had a huge fight before the competition, and Beth's probably in our room, eating ice cream.''   
  
Speaking of the devil, Skyler walked past, and turned back to say hi. ''Kim, have you seen Beth? I want to apologize to her.''   
  
Kimberly shook her head. ''She's prolly in our room, though. Whatever it is, do you think that you'll be able to fix it before we go to dinner?''   
  
Skyler nodded. ''Oh, sure. You know Beth and I. We always work it out.'' He gave Jason the handshake that teenagers were currently using these days.   
  
Jason nodded. ''Good luck, Skye.'' He watched his friend walk down the hall towards the stairs. Kimberly's dorm held the gym that was used for the Pan Globals. She was going to have to fly to California to train for the Olympics. She was going to miss Beth and Skye.   
  
Kimberly went into the locker room to change, and she marveled at the fact that she was leaving. She had wanted this for so long, she could hardly believe that she was getting this. She yanked her leotard off and took a shower. She pulled on a soft cotton white skirt and a pink tank top. She brushed her hair and curled it a little with her curling iron, and quickly did her makeup.   
  
When she went down to her room, to get her strappy white sandals, she found Jason, Beth, and Skyler there. She opened her closet, hoping Beth wasn't too devastated that she didn't get the other spot. Kimberly herself was upset, because she'd have to see Stephanie more.   
  
Beth pushed back her long blond hair. ''I'm glad that you got one of the spots, Kim.'' She finally said to her friend.   
  
Kimberly turned to face her, while trying to put on her shoes. ''Thank you, Beth. And I'm sorry that you didn't get the other spot, because I really don't want to spend any more time with Stephanie Cowell than I have to.''   
  
The two girls laughed and hugged. Beth said, ''Now that that's out of the way, let's go to dinner, people!''   
  
The girls had picked a new hamburger joint, the Dairy Burger. It had started out as a single family owned business in Sweet Valley, Cali, down the road from Angel Grove, and now it was a chain. The cooks were hand picked by the owner, so the food was way better than any fast food restaurant. The couples were regulars, so they got a prime booth by the window in the corner of the restaurant. The waiter who was waiting on them, Joel, came over and said, ''So, Kim, Beth, are ya'll leavin' us?''  
  
Beth said, ''Kimmie is! Isn't that wonderful? We're very happy for her.'' She tried to keep the emotion out of her voice.   
  
Joel nodded. ''Sorry for you, Bethie, but I'm very happy for you, Kim. So, ya'll have the usual? Four cheeseburgers and two plates of chili fries and chocolate shakes?''  
  
Jason grinned. ''You got it in one, Joel. Bring 'em over!''   
  
Joel nodded. ''Sure thing, ya'll. I'll tell Pete.'' Pete was the cook, who was a favorite of the teens who frequented the burger joint.   
  
Before they could get down to talking, Stephanie walked by with the flavor of the week, her b/f Mitchell Stevens . Stephanie didn't date people with nicknames. If they had one, she didn't use it. She also didn't like people to call her Stephie or Steph. She was S-T-E-P-H-A-N-I-E.   
  
Kimberly said, ''Hi, Steph.'' She emphasized the "Steph".   
  
Stephanie ignored her and said, ''Hi, Jason. Did you see my fantabulous triple herky?'' She asked, ignoring Mitchell.   
  
Jason shrugged. ''I was too busy looking at my beautiful fiance. I didn't even know you were there, Stephanie.''   
  
Stephanie was flustered. She said, ''Yes, well. Come on, Mitchell. I have a large group to get to. They're probably waiting for me.''  
  
Beth nodded. ''Yeah, and you'd better get a move on. Their trainers have to take them back to the zoo before it closes.'' Her friends laughed as Stephanie left with Mitchell in a huff.   
  
Skyler shook his head. ''I feel sorry for Mitch. He'll be gone in a week. He really likes her too. He was telling me that he was so glad she finally asked him out.''   
  
Kimberly laughed. ''You mean she finally allowed him to ask her out. Steph Cowell doesn't ask boys out. That wouldn't be following the rules.''   
  
They talked about everything but the competition, and Jason and Kimberly told Beth and Skyler about moving up the wedding date. Beth was a bridesmaid, so she knew that they really didn't have that much time. ''Kim, you have two months to get it planned, and don't you have to get all your friends from AG here?''   
  
Kimberly nodded. ''Yeah, we do, but if we call them now, we should be able to get most of them here. Not all of Jason's siblings might be able to make it, but it's OK.''   
  
They finished up dinner, and went their seperate ways. Skyler and Beth were going to the park, for a romantic stroll, and Jason and Kimberly were going back to Jason's rented apartment for some alone time. Kimberly had told Beth not to expect her back that night. They walked hand in hand to Jason's car, and Kimberly sighed contentedly. She was very glad to be with him, on this night. She turned to him and kissed his cheek. ''I'm very glad that you're here with me. I'm glad that we decided that there was no way we could be alone.''   
  
Jason smiled at her. ''I'm glad, too. I couldn't have lived without you. I would have gone mad not seeing you, and you know it.''   
  
They reached his car, and drove the twenty minute drive. Kimberly asked as they headed up the walk, ''So, when do you want to have the wedding? Right before we leave for Cali? Or the day after you graduate?''   
  
Jason said, ''Either one that you want. I'm not partial to either. Of course, we should see what's good for everyone else. Maybe more people could make the first date, for example.''   
  
They entered Jason's small apartment building, and headed up the stairs to the gorgeous little bachelor pad Jason had going. Even if he wasn't technically a bachelor, if Kimberly had anything to say about it. Jason let them in and went to check his messages. There was a message from his little sister, Julia. ''Hey, big brother, it's Jules, if you couldn't tell from my voice. Charlie wants to know if you can make it back for his birthday. I know you and Kim will have to move back to Cali for the games, and it'll most likely be San Fran, but we miss you here in Angel Grove! Call me back. Love ya.'' Next message was one from Tommy Oliver, one of their best friends, and still a Power Ranger. He was part of the Power Rangers Zeo team. ''Jase, it's me. I need to talk to you. Kat was in a car accident. I think she'll be OK, but the doctors are still running tests and everything. If you can, come back to Angel Grove. I'll call back later, just in case you didn't get this. Bye.''   
  
Kimberly gasped. ''Jason, I can't believe it! Maybe we should just get eloped or something, instead of trying to just move up the entire wedding plan. We'll just have Beth and Skyler at the ceremony, to be our witnesses and whatnot. Then we can get right down to Angel Grove.''  
  
Jason hugged her. ''That sounds like a good idea to me. Let's do that. We'll call them in the morning. Right now I am dead tired, and so are you. Let's just go to sleep.''   
  
Kimberly agreed to that idea. ''You're right. Let's go.'' They went into Jason's bedroom. Jason slipped off his jeans and tee to sleep in his boxers, and Kimberly went into the adjoining bathroom to change into her pjs. They climbed into the bed and went to sleep. They hadn't made love yet, but they had a lot of "sleepovers" at Jason's little apartment.   
  
The next morning, Jason and Kimberly met Beth and Skye at the town hall. Kimberly wore a long white summer dress, and Jason wore black jeans and a black muscle shirt. They had luckily already bought the wedding rings, and Beth rushed out to the store to get some flowers. They were pink tulips, Kimberly's favorite.   
  
The minister smiled at them, and began the ceremony. ''Lady and gentleman, we are here to join Jason Lucas Scott and Kimberly Ann Hart in holy matrimony. The two of them have had a long relationship already, and they will have an even longer marriage. Jason, would you like to say your vows?''   
  
Jason took Kimberly's hands in his own. ''Kim, since the time we were six, I've been in love with you. I have always wanted to marry you. It's never mattered when or where, or even how. All I know is that I love you. I never needed any other girl, and before we were together I knew that we would be. I will always be here to protect you. Not because you'll need it, but because you'll expect me to. People say that there's no love that's like a fairy tale. I disagree. We may have our problems, but I have always felt like a king loving you, and I hope I've made you feel like a queen.''   
  
The minister turned to Kimberly as both girls' eyes filled with tears. ''It's your turn, Kimberly.''   
  
Kimberly sniffled and wiped her eyes. She took Jason's hands back in her own as she smiled at him. ''I never thought that I would find everything I was looking for. Let alone before my eighteenth birthday. When my 'rents split up, I lost all hope in love. I never thought that I would be able to find someone who was willing to love all of me. But I did. I love you more than I have ever loved anyone in my entire life. You have been the most perfect boyfriend. You have always known what needed done, if anything, and I have been so clueless. I can take care of myself, it's true, but I want you to be there to protect me. I'm not like those women who want to protect themselves. I can, yes, but I'd rather have you there to do it for me because it feels so wonderful in your arms. All I need for the rest of my life is you to love me. As long as I have that, I will be the happiest woman alive.''  
  
The minister even had tears in his eyes. Everyone was crying. He said, ''I don't think I have to ask if you take each other, because after that, I think you do. So, the rings.''  
  
The couple eagerly slid the rings on each other's fingers, and kissed even before the minister told them he pronounced them husband and wife. It was the beginning of the rest of their lives...... 


	2. Readying For the Olympics and Bullemia

Chapter Two: Readying For the Olympics And Bullemia  
  
Kimberly Ann Hart Scott stood in the living room of her new rented apartment. Jason had graduated from high school with flying colors, and instead of going to college like he'd always planned, he got a job as a fire fighter. Kimberly was very proud of him. They'd rented this great little apartment in San Fran, and Kimberly was three weeks into training for the Olympics. She was going to go just this year, and then they were going to start their family. She wanted to win so bad, she could taste it, but she wanted a family with Jason more. So it was this one shot. She knew she could do it. And Kat had been OK, she had to go through physical therapy for her injured back. She was reputed to be doing fine.   
  
She had gotten a new coach, and he was way better than Coach Schmidt. He was one of the best around. Kimberly loved David Blair. He was great, the only thing was, Kim was having problems with her weight. He had told her when she first started that she had been a little overweight, and she'd been trying to keep it down since then. She was pretty sure that she'd been able to keep the fact that she'd been puking up most of her food from her husband.   
  
Jason entered the living room to wrap his arms around her. Jason was another thing that David had a problem with. He felt that Jason was taking up too much of her time. She had been frigid on that part of her life, however, and told him that Jason was her husband, so she was still going to make time for him. He kissed her. ''Are you OK? You barely ate any dinner last night. It was spaghetti and meatballs, your fave.''  
  
Kimberly sighed and leaned against him. It was getting harder to keep her weight loss from him. ''I've just been so tired, working for the Olympics. I have this one shot, Jase, we agreed on that. I'm just trying to work as hard as I can.''   
  
Jason just nodded and kissed her. ''OK, well, I've gotta go to the firehouse. I'll be back in a couple of days. I love you.'' He kissed her and left.   
  
She sighed again and went upstairs to train, she was going to do 150 pushups before going to bed. She had to get up at 3:30 in the morning so she could be at the gym at five in the morning. Kimberly was glad that she had been given this chance, but she was having so much trouble keeping up. She was hungry all the time, and it was hard, making up excuses for not eating. But even thinking about eating made her nauseous.   
  
She reached her room and began exercising. She was going to make it. No matter what it took.   
  
The next morning, Kimberly awoke and started to get ready. She got dressed in her leotard and ate some ice chips and went out to the car to drive to David's gym. When she got on the scales, David was very proud of her. She only weighed ninety pounds. It was actually underweight. She was only five feet. She was the tiniest she'd been in her entire life, and it still wasn't good enough.   
  
Kimberly worked all day on her routines, wearing herself out. Every time she did one, even if she did it perfectly, David made her do it again. She was rehearsing on the bars when she felt dizzy and nauseous. She stopped and nearly fell. Brenda, one of the coaches, hurried to her side. ''Kim, are you OK?''  
  
The tired gymnast wasn't sure what to reply. She obviously wasn't, but she couldn't tell Brenda that. ''I'm fine. I'm just a little tired. I just need a drink of water.'' She slid off the beam and nearly lost her balance, she was so dizzy.   
  
Brenda hastened to help her before David caught on to Kimberly's dizziness. ''You are looking so much thinner, honey. Are you sure you're eating right?''  
  
Kimberly shrugged off Brenda's help, not wanting the older woman to realize how skinny she was. ''I'm fine, really.'' She walked unsteadily to the bathroom to splash some water on her face to avoid further questioning.   
  
When she finally went home for the day, she went on the balcony of their apartment and started doing chinups on the bar that Jason had installed. She did 200 of them before she had to stop because she was feeling too weak. She nearly fell to the stone floor of the balcony, but she managed to let go and land safely on her feet.   
  
She went inside to get some ice chips. When she did, the phone rang. She knew it was Jason; they didn't know many people yet who would be calling. She answered it. ''Hello, Scott residence.''   
  
It was indeed her husband. ''Hey, baby. How's the training going? Did you eat something?'' Jason's wonderfully sexy voice asked her.   
  
So he had been noticing that she hadn't been eating. She tried to concentrate on the conversation. ''I'm fine, Jason. Really. The training's going fine. David thinks I've got a real shot at winning the gold.'' Her vision was blurry, and she was about to pass out from a lack of food.   
  
Jason replied, ''That's great, Kim! Are you sure you're getting enough sleep? I'm going to be home by tomorrow night, and if you're not getting enough sleep you're going to have to cut back a little on something. You're not going to win anything if you're too tired.''   
  
Kimberly closed her eyes for a second and opened them again. Her vision had been spinning. Now it was steady. She said, ''I'm fine, Jase, really. I love you, OK? I actually need to go lie down. I've got a bit of a headache.'' This was partly to get away from Jason's questions and partly true. She did have a headache.   
  
Jason said, ''OK, I love you, baby. Get some rest.'' After telling her he loved her again, Jason hung up. He was really worried about her. He wasn't sure she was taking care of herself. He just wished that he could do something about it..............  
  
At their home, Kimberly Ann Hart Scott was in the kitchen, stuffing her growling stomach with as much food as she could get into her mouth. Grapes, fried chicken, bread. After about a minute or two of this, she ran across the apartment to the bathroom, where she preceded to throw up in the toilet. After she was through, she sat back on the floor, leaning against the wall. She couldn't do this anymore. But she couldn't give up her dream, either. She felt alone and confused. What was she going to do? 


	3. Getting Worse

Chapter Three: Getting Worse  
  
Jason Scott unlocked his door to find an empty apartment. He knew Kimberly wouldn't be here, he just wished that she was. It was seven in the evening, and she was most likely still at the gym. He wished that there was something more he could do for her. He knew she wasn't eating right. He just didn't know what to do.   
  
He was getting some chicken out to fix for dinner when the phone rang. He answered it as he popped it in the microwave to thaw. ''Hello, Scott residence.'' He said.   
  
It was Kimberly's best friend Aisha Campbell. ''Hey, Jase! How are you?'' She was in Africa, staying with a tribe that Tanya Sloan, the current Yellow Ranger, had lived with.   
  
Jason grinned. Aisha had a happiness that was always catching. ''Hey, Ish! What's going on? How's Africa?''  
  
Aisha's voice was crackly. ''It's great. Zack finally came down to visit me. I was happy to see him. It's not every day you get to see your boyfriend. Not when you do what we do.'' She commented. Zack was Zack Taylor, a former Ranger and Jason and Kimberly's best friend since they could crawl. Jason's especially. He and Zack had been there for each other since forever. They had done everything together.   
  
Jason grinned at the mention of his BFF. ''I'm so glad that you and Zack were able to see each other. How's it going with you two?'' Aisha and Zack had just started to date a couple of months ago.   
  
His wife's BFF (besides himself, of course) sighed. ''I couldn't be happier. Zack's the best boyfriend ever. We can't talk a lot on the phone, mind you, but he emails me everyday. I check my email as often as I can, and there's always a million messages from him. I think I might be falling in love with him, Jase.''   
  
Jason checked on the chicken. Aisha's happiness was great. He remembered the beginnings of his and Kimberly's relationship. It had been just as romantic and special as his friends'. He said, ''That's great, Isha. I'm really happy for you.''   
  
Aisha asked, ''So how's things with you and Kimmie? How's the training going? How's married life treating you?'' He and Kimberly had told their friends of their marriage not long after they'd gone to make sure Kat was OK. Besides, Kimberly hadn't been able to keep her excitement from everyone.   
  
Jason paced the kitchen floor. ''In all honesty, Ish, I'm worried about her. She's never been this focused before. That's not entirely a good thing. She's always at the gym, and she barely eats. She thinks that I haven't noticed it, but I have. I don't know what to do. If I tell her that she's working too hard, she'll just tell me that she's not working hard enough. And there's no way that I can get her to eat anything. I think the only thing she's eating are ice chips.''   
  
Before Aisha could say anything, his wife entered the house. She came in, muttering about something. All Jason could make out was, ''stupid, insipid, wants me, Stephanie...''   
  
Jason told Aisha to hang on a minute and asked, ''Kim, honey, what's wrong? Did something happen at the gym today?''  
  
Kimberly scowled and snapped, ''David wants me to be more like Stephanie. She's just so perfect. She's skinny enough, she works harder, blah blah blah. I am ten times the gymnast that she is. I don't deserve this, Jason. If this wasn't my only shot, I'd just quit.'' She walked upstairs to shower, still muttering under her breath.   
  
Jason put the phone back up to his ear. ''Ish, I'm gonna have to talk to you later. Do you think that you could be on the 'net tonight so I can IM you, maybe?''  
  
Aisha's voice was hesitant, but she replied, ''Sure, Jase. Tell Kim that sometimes what we have to suffer makes us stronger.''   
  
Jason told her that he would, and said good-bye. He sighed. Kim was sinking, and she didn't know it. At least with this Stephanie thing, she had had some of the old fire back into her eyes. He went to get the chicken to fry it.  
  
Kimberly was doing situps as fast as she could, and grabbing ice chips occasionally as she came back down. She was so p-o-ed that she had barely noticed that she was hungry. The only thing she'd eaten besides ice chips was a chocolate eclair that she'd barfed up. She and another gymnast, (an Olympic gold medalist to be exact) had taken a break and left to go window shopping. Leslie (the medalist) had suggested that they get the eclairs, because of course, you could just puke it back up. Kimberly was finding it harder and harder to do that. She'd tried to eat some baked chicken and rice at lunch, but it had just made her stomach sick.   
  
She heard her husband downstairs, making dinner. She really didn't want to eat anything. She felt she'd puke at the mere thought. Was this how it was going to be now? As long as she was competing, she wasn't going to eat? Kim knew that she had to be skinny to win, but this was ridiculous. She was just so confused, though. What should she do?   
  
She was saved any more thinking about it because Jason called her to dinner. She got up, grabbing her ice chips, and went down the stairs slowly. She was very sore. She'd gone through ten routines twenty times. Leslie had been working beside her, and she had gone through eight routines thirty times. Kimberly knew that Leslie had to be feeling it even more than she herself was.   
  
Jason was finishing putting the fried chicken and macroni and cheese on the table. He'd almost fixed rice instead, but he'd wondered if Kimberly would eat it. He was just hoping she'd eat any of it, to be honest. ''Hey, I fixed some of your favorite. Fried chicken.'' In the old days, Kimberly had loved fried chicken.   
  
Kimberly felt bile rising in her throat, and her vision was blurry. Everything was spinning. She felt herself losing consciousness as she fell to the floor, hitting her head on one of the chairs, and that was the last thing she knew. 


	4. Not Giving Up

Chapter Four: Not Giving Up  
  
Jason paced outside his wife's hospital room. He had immediately called the squad after she had collapsed. She hadn't woken up since then. He was getting pretty worried. He'd called their friends in Angel Grove, and some of them had been able to come and see if Kimberly was OK. His best friend Zack was in the waiting room, along with their friends Tommy Oliver, Kat Hilliard, Tanya Sloan, and Adam Park. He couldn't sit with them. He knew they were just trying to help and be supportive, but they just didn't understand, and they never would.   
  
Zack came down the hall. ''Hey, Jase. Has she woken up yet?'' He and Jason had been best friends since they were babies practically. He knew Jason liked to work through things on his own. Zack had always tried to help him anyway, because he always knew how much his friend could actually handle better than Jason did himself.   
  
Jason weakly smiled at his best friend. ''They expect her to wake up, they just aren't sure when. She's got a concussion, but it's not serious. She's going to be OK physically, but mentally, Zack, I'm not sure. I think she might be bullemic. I am so worried for her, Zack. I don't know what to do. She hides the fact that she doesn't eat from me. She thinks I don't notice, but I do.''  
  
Zack said, ''She'll be OK, Jason. You can get her help. She shouldn't continue with her gymnastics, probably, but she'll be OK. I just can't believe that this happened. Kim always used to be OK. She never worried about being too skinny.''  
  
Jason shrugged. ''It's the Olympics. David Blair has been filling her mind with the idea that you have to be skinny in order to win. She weighs under a hundred pounds, Zack. If the wind blew, she would fall over. She needs help. I just don't know how to make her get it. What do I do?''   
  
Zack wasn't sure what to tell him. ''I'm not sure, man. I guess you'll just have to talk to her. But maybe this will have scared her into getting help.'' He commented.   
  
The two boys were interrupted by Kimberly waking up and calling for Jason. He hurried into her room. ''Oh, Kim, you'll be OK. I'm so glad that you're awake.'' He pressed kisses all over her face.   
  
Kimberly kissed him and asked, ''So when can I get out of here? I want to start training again.'' She ran a hand through her caramel colored hair.  
  
The couple was joined by Zack and Kat, who came over to give Kimberly kisses. ''I'm so glad you're alright, Kim.'' Kat expressed in her soft Austrailian accent.   
  
Kimberly smiled weakly at her friend. ''I'm OK, I just want to get out of here so I can go train.'' She caught the worried looks everyone was giving her. ''What's going on?'' She asked.  
  
Jason said, ''Honey, you could have died today. If you had hit your head harder, I just, I think that you should stop for right now and get some help. You're out of control.''   
  
His wife took her hands out of her husband's. ''I am going to finish my training and go to the Olympics, Jase. I love it and I'm not going to give up.'' She shook her head defiantly.   
  
Zack said, ''Kim, I think Jase's right. You've gotten really thin, and you need to get some help. We're all really worried about you.''   
  
Kimberly sat as far up as she could. ''Zachary Taylor, I'm glad that you're so worried about me, but this is my one shot, and I AM NOT GIVING IT UP!''   
  
After this announcement, everyone stopped trying to get her to see reason and left to formulate a plan, whilst Kimberly reluctantly fell asleep.   
  
The next morning, the doctor cleared Kimberly to go home. Jason made her go home in a wheelchair, which Kimberly fought. She wanted to walk. Jason told her they'd have a comprimise, just to get her in the chair. He told her that she would have to ride in the chair if she wanted to train again. He was going to try his best not to let her back into that gym. He didn't want her to be there until she could handle it. He didn't know why she was having so many problems, other than maybe it was David Blair, her coach.   
  
Kimberly was feeling a little better; because of the medication they'd given her at the hospital, she actually had a good night's sleep. She understood Jason's concern, and knew that she did need help. She just didn't know how to stop her bullemia/anerexia. She couldn't bring herself to eat, and when the hunger overtook her, she couldn't keep it in her stomach.   
  
As soon as they reached their apartment, Kimberly jumped out of the chair and ran to the bar they'd had put in on the balcony and immediately began to do chinups. Jason couldn't find a plausible reason that she shouldn't do them, so he just let her do them. It pained him to do so, but he didn't have any other choice.   
  
Stephanie came up the walk and went up the stairs, where she saw Kimberly working on her chinups. Stephanie commented, ''Already? Didn't you just come home from the hospital?'' She smiled a sickly sweet and totally fake smile at Kimberly.   
  
Kimberly let go and dropped gently on her feet. ''Hello, Steph. What did you want? Don't tell me you're on a social call.''   
  
Stephanie shook her head and didn't even bother to correct the girl's wrong usage of her name. She said, ''I came to see Jason, and express my condolences at his loss.''  
  
Kimberly stood with her hands on her hips. ''What do you mean, his LOSS?'' She hated Stephanie. She had never hated anyone in her life, except for this girl.   
  
Her adversary smiled that same sickly sweet smile. ''I wanted to tell him that I'm sorry that his wife won't be going to the Olympics.'' She was baiting Kim, and she knew it.   
  
Kimberly asked, ''Why would you do that? I am going to the Olympics. This was a small setback that is going to be under control. Why don't you just mosey along and go train yourself? You need the work.''   
  
If Kim had struck a cord, Stephanie's face didn't show it. She just said, ''You shouldn't try if you can't handle it.'' She turned and left, hollering that she would come back to see Jason later.   
  
Jason came out, holding a plate of hamburgers he was going to make on the grill. ''Who was here?'' He asked his wife.   
  
Kimberly was fuming. ''Stephanie Cowell. She wanted to express her sorrow to you that your wife won't be going to the Olympics.'' She turned to her husband. ''Jason, I know that you think I shouldn't continue until I get help, but I need to do this. If not for me, but to prove Stephanie Cowell wrong. I know I don't have to, I want to. I won't feel myself until I do.''  
  
Jason put the plate of burgers on the side of the grill. He turned to his wife. ''I just can't watch you do this to yourself. I'm going to fix these burgers for lunch, and then I have to go to work until Thursday. Can I trust you to eat while I'm gone?''  
  
Kimberly kissed him. ''Of course, Jason. Why wouldn't I?'' She went inside the house, to shower and change. She had lied through her teeth, but she didn't know what to do, and she thought she never would. 


	5. The Last Straw

Chapter Five: The Last Straw

Kimberly got up in the morning to train, and sighed. It was getting harder and harder to care about her gymnastics. It wasn't fun anymore, and that's one of the reasons she had begun to do it. She went to the shower, to get ready. She could already tell that this was going to be a supremely awful day. She got one of her dizzy spells as she was grabbing a towel out of the cabinet, to put on top of the toilet. She stopped and waited until it passed. She shook her head and stepped into the hot spray and hoped that she could get past this.

After she finished showering, she got out and dressed in her leotard and some shorts and grabbed a sweatshirt. After she'd slipped her feet into her sneakers, she hurried down to the kitchen to grab some water.

She drank a couple of glasses, and then hurried out to her car. When she reached the gym, she went into the bathroom, to check how she looked before she went out on the floor. She looked in the mirror. She looked frail and very sallow. She was the skinniest she had ever been in her life, and she didn't like it one bit. Jason was going to flip. Kimberly hadn't been eating like she was supposed to.

Kimberly ran a brush through her hair and pulled it into a high ponytail and pulled her sweatshirt off. She left the bathroom and went to the locker room to put her sweatshirt away.

When she stepped out on the floor, she saw Stephanie making a face at her. Kimberly didn't rise to her bait. She ignored her and went over to the balance beam. Leslie was sitting on top of the one next to her, and she asked, ''Are you feeling OK, Kim?''

Kimberly turned to look at her. ''I'm fine, and I'm not quitting.'' She immediately said, and climbed on top of the balance beam.

Leslie looked taken aback. ''No one said you were. Are you sure that you're OK? Maybe you ought to take another day off or something.''

Kimberly shook her head vehemently. ''No way. I am fine.'' She gritted her teeth and began to practice her routine, determined to make it through the day, no matter how badly she felt.

An hour later, she was getting showered and changed to head home. She was exhausted, and hardly able to move. Jason was going to kill her when he found out that she was letting herself get this tired without eating. She went out to her car and drove home, trying not to fall asleep as she did so.

When she got there, the phone was ringing. She immediately snatched it up, hoping it was her husband. She hadn't heard from him yet that day, and she was really wanting to talk to him. ''Hello, Scott residence.'' She said.

It was her gorgeous hunk of a husband. ''Hey, Kim. It's me, how are you doing today? Did you eat something?'' He was so worried about her.

Kimberly crossed her fingers behind her back. ''I'm a little tired from practice, but I'm fine. I miss you. Thursday can't come fast enough.'' She opened the fridge to get out a jug of water.

Jason leaned back in the chair he was sitting in. ''Kim, I know that you think that I am nagging you a lot, but I really just am worried about you. I love you so much, and I don't want to lose you. When you had to end up going to the hospital, that scared the shit out of me.''

Kimberly nodded, and remembered that he couldn't see her. ''I know, it scared me, too. I don't want you to lose me, either.'' She dropped the jug of water on the floor and it began to empty. She held onto her stomach, which was aching. She blinked as she began to feel dizzy. Then she lost control in a split second and fell to the floor, hitting her head on the way. Jason was calling her name, and Kimberly tried to answer as she lost consciousness for the second time...

When she woke, she was lying in a hospital bed, and she felt stronger. She looked at all the tubes in her arm, and wondered which one was pumping all the food into her system. Jason was sitting in a chair beside her bed, asleep. She wondered if she had had lain there for long before he had been able to get to her.

The doctor came into the room just then along with Zack. Zachary Taylor was definitely one of the best friends that she had ever had in her life. ''Hey, Zackman.'' She said, never more relieved to see him in her life.

Zack said, ''Hey, girl, glad to see that you're awake.'' He kissed her forehead. ''Now do you see why you need to take a break now? You were all alone. If Jason hadn't called you, you would be dead right now.''

Kimberly nodded. ''I know. I see, and I really am going to take a break and get some help.'' She nodded again when she saw the skeptical look on her friend's face. ''Really. I don't want to put you guys through this anymore.''

Two months later, she and Jason were packing up their things and putting them into the car. They were going to move back to Angel Grove. Kimberly was putting her dream of going to the Olympics aside. It was too much right now, and she really needed to keep going to a therapist and gain some of the weight she lost back. Jason loaded the last box in the car and got the keys to the U-Haul. ''Coming, Kim?'' He asked.

Kimberly stood on the balcony, by the bar. She looked up at it, knowing it would be the last time she ever saw it. She jumped up and did a chinup, then backflipped off and landed gently on her feet. She smiled. She wasn't one hundred percent perfect, but it was OK. Perfect was overrated, anyway.


End file.
